The Use of Primaries by Political Parties: The Case of PASOK - A Rejoinder

This note is a rejoinder to a comment made by Professor Domenico Fruncillo on my paper published in the previous issue of this journal. My aim here is to respond to his valuable comments. I have selected what I consider as the most important ones, which include the role of primary elections in promoting democracy and a specific one referring to the age effect (young versus old) in determining the result. My point of view is that primary elections should be seen as the first necessary step towards improving the democratic process; the same method can be later used to decide on issues of ideology and policies. My response to the latter important issue is as follows. The real debate in PASOK’s case was not between old and young, but between those who were involved in holding government positions in the past (one prime minister and three ministers were running for PASOK’s presidency), and those who did not. Of course, this is strongly correlated with age. Keywords: primaries, elections, voting, political parties, PASOK, Greece

Changing US attitudes to federalism prioritise states

Significance Once considered the means by which US states could act as ‘laboratories of democracy’ that find new ways to improve governance, the recent construction of federalism as prioritising state autonomy is producing unevenness in democratic practices that is affecting the established rights of individuals. Impacts The erosion of common standards in states’ electoral procedures will further reduce overall trust in the democratic process. Political divisions between state and federal governments will increase during the remainder of the Biden presidency. Emphasising splits with Washington on civil rights issues camouflages state-level economic changes which will also impact voters. Aided by interest groups, states are drafting appeal-proof laws which reduce the ability of courts to enforce national standards.

The Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina Into the European Union

This chapter focuses on the analysis of the EU integration process of Bosnia and Herzegovina, dealing with the internal and external political challenges that country is facing on its path towards aspired EU membership. As one of the main internal challenges, the authors recognize a very pronounced ethnocracy and leaderocracy that captures democratic process, making the country unstable and unable to fulfill criteria even to achieve the status of candidate for EU membership. Furthermore, there is a strong influence of the neighboring countries, which were involved in the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and continue to play very often an obstructive role in internal politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the authors argue, in BiH, the issue of Euro-Atlantic integration is less a matter of political and economic transition, and more, it is not primarily an issue of stabilizing the peace and creating fundamental preconditions for overall development.

The Role of Wali Nanggroe Institution to Realize Peace in the Asymmetric Decentralization: the Case of Indonesia

<p><em>This article aimed to analyze the role and chances of the Wali Nanggroe in its involvement in international peace and its relation to the implementation of special autonomy in Aceh. One of the functions mandated by the qanun (local laws) of Wali Nanggroe Institution is participation in local, national, and international peace. The participation of Wali Nanggroe Institution to be part of regional, national and international peace is an exciting study because most of Wali Nanggroe's members are currently former officials and former combatants of the Free Aceh Movement. This research will analyze the opportunities of the Wali Nanggroe Institute in its involvement in the world and its relation to the implementation of special autonomy in Aceh. This research shows the peace will continue after the peace agreement because many Acehnese leaders, former GAM leaders, believe that the MOU can bring Aceh to a self-government system through a peaceful and democratic process.</em> <em>that several opportunities can be used by it to carry out the function of peace, among others, the first is strong support from local political parties because Wali Nanggroe is an "old man" in Aceh; Third, good relations between Wali Nanggroe and foreign countries or bodies, as well as Wali Nanggroe's own experience in the negotiation process with the Government of Indonesia to realize the understanding of the Helsinki MoU in Finland.</em></p>

Categorisation in Forest Areas: A Study of the ‘OTFDs’ in the Forest Rights Act

There are certain demarcated tribal areas in our country where the Scheduled Tribes (STs) have special community rights to live their lives according to their customs and maintain control over local natural resource management. The Sixth Schedule and Fifth Schedule are examples of such areas, and after the enactment of the Forest Rights Act, (FRA), 2006, there are crucial preferential provisions for the STs in forest areas of the whole country too. This article probes the historical development of categorisations in India, particularly in the context of forest-dwelling communities, and attempts to examine constitutional provisions and the provisions of different laws passed by the Parliament to evaluate the situation of other minority communities, particularly dalits, living in ‘forest areas’. In this context, the article primarily focuses on the genesis and practice of the Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) category. Based on the field study of the Taungya village, the article shows the problem of categorisation in forest areas and marginalisation of dalits due to this process and emphasises the need for a more dialogical and democratic process of categorisation in India.

Navigating Through Changes of a Digital World

In this chapter, we address the question of how trust in technological development can be increased. The use of information technologies can potentially enable humanity, social justice, and the democratic process. At the same time, there are concerns that the deployment of certain technologies, e.g., AI technologies, can have unintended consequences or can even be used for malicious purposes. In this chapter, we discuss these conflicting positions.

Reducing the Burden of Decision in Digital Democracy Applications: A Comparative Analysis of Six Decision-making Software

The more digital democracy applications lower the costs of political participation, allowing ordinary citizens to propose their own policy initiatives, the more they increase the burden of decision for the very same citizens, who are required to debate and vote on many issues. Drawing from this paradox, this article considers how the designers and administrators of six popular decision-making software (DMS) have introduced software features and norms of use whose function is to reduce the aggregate burden of decision for participants in digital democracy initiatives (DDIs). Building upon Andrew Feenberg’s definition of the design code of technology as a technical stabilization of social demands, this article considers how different DMS stabilize the democratic interventions of a plurality of actors, affecting political equality along two axes of the democratic process: the relationship between the exchange of opinions and the synthesis of opinion and the relationship between agenda setting and voting. This article concludes that the design code of digital democracy software reflects an ongoing tension between the need of governing actors to make the democratic process manageable and the pressure of social actors to make it more equal and inclusive.

Tasking the Leviathan: Right to Protest, Good Governance, and Implications for National Security and International Law

The right to good governance is a right inalienable to the democratic process. Content analysis was used as the data source for this paper. This study would attempt to resolve the questions on the intricate connection between the right to protest and the right to good governance in Nigeria and what this means for national security and international law. In this essay, it was argued that the international law space is shrinking for holding the democratic process accountable in sovereign states. The significance of the essay is to suggest a new direction for the engagement of international law mechanisms on human rights and for the provision of policy recommendations for good governance and law enforcement.

Ketika Demokrasi Membutuhkan Inklusi

Democracy is a political tool that aims to reach agreement and produce fair decisions for everyone. However, it seems that not all democratic processes and decision-making involve individuals or groups who are socially in a weak, powerless, and marginalized position. These groups, such as women, the elderly, minority groups, and the poor, find themselves in a disadvantageous situation, while political decisions made through a democratic process also impact and affect them directly. Based on this thought, Iris Marion Young, a modern feminist political thinker, seeks to dismantle the various democratic symptoms that obstruct the achievement of justice for all. One of the main problems Young identified is the attempt by those in power to ignore or override the role of communities that are not in power, thereby preventing them from taking full part in democratic processes and decision-making. Therefore, Young proposes the need to intrude on inclusion in the democratic process, through communication models which she calls communicative democracy.

AI, Democracy, and the Importance of Asking the Right Questions

Democracy is widely praised as a great achievement of humanity. However, in recent years there has been an increasing amount of concern that its functioning across the world may be eroding. In response, efforts to combat such change are emerging. Considering the pervasiveness of technology and its increasing capabilities, it is no surprise that there has been much focus on the use of artificial intelligence(AI) to this end. Questions as to how AI can be best utilized to extend the reach of democracy to currently non-democratic countries, how the involvement in the democratic process of certain demographic groups (e.g. ethnic minorities, women, and young people) can be increased, etc. are frequent topics of discussion. In this article I would like not merely to question whether this is desirable but rather argue that we should be trying to envisage ways of using AI for the exact opposite purpose: that of replacing democratic systems with better alternatives.